Pot Roast in a Jar... Canning Roast Beef

I found a nice pot roast on sale at the grocery store recently... it was a big one, bigger than DH and I could eat for one meal. I usually would cook it anyway and we would eat leftovers for a few days. This time I decided to can it.

Now, I have several jars with portions just the right size for two and now when we want pot roast we can pop open a jar and heat and eat.

Here's what I did...

I sterilized my canning jars by boiling them upside down in a pan set on two stove eyes. I placed a dish towel in the bottom to keep the jars from tipping over, added two or three inches of water, and boiled them for 15 or 20 minutes.

And I sterilized my lids and rings by bringing just to a boil and simmering them for 10 or 15 minutes, keeping them hot until time to put them on the jars (don't boil the lids, just simmer).

Then I cut my hunk of beef into "jar-sized" pieces... pieces that would fit easily into the wide mouth pint jars.

I ended up with four nice sized pieces. Next I chopped an onion and divided it into the four jars.

Then I put in the pieces of meat, making sure to leave a half inch of headspace.

I added a teaspoon of salt in each jar.

Then filled each jar with boiling water.

I removed any air bubbles by inserting a butter knife or one of those handy-dandy air bubble removing tool sold in canning kits.

I wiped the rims of the jars with a damp cloth (Tip: dampening the cloth with a little vinegar will help remove grease) and tightened the lids onto the jars.

I processed the jars in my pressure canner following the instructions provided with the canner.

For pints, process at 10 pounds of pressure for 70 minutes.

For quarts, process at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes.

Turn the heat off from underneath the canner when the time is up and let it cool, allowing the pressure to go down. (DON'T try to hurry the cooling process, let it cool on its own! Don't want any exploding jars!)

When the pressure went down to ZERO, I removed the lid from my canner and lifted the jars out using a jar lifter (which I love!), setting them to cool on a folded dish towel on the counter... setting them at least an inch apart so air can circulate around them.

When I heard the "PING" of the jar lids sealing, I knew I had successfully canned pot roast! It's a beautiful sound!

Leave the jars undisturbed for 12-24 hours, then check that they are still sealed, label with the date, and store in a cool, dark place.

Pot Roast in a Jar... Yum!

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